Table of Contents

Martian Soil

Approximate Composition of Martian Soil (elements by mass)

Data taken at the Viking 1 landing site.
Oxygen, iron, aluminium and magnesium are
"exploded" for emphasis on the pie-chart.

Transparency Master

The soil of Mars is extremely dry and resembles an iron rich clay-like dusty sand.

It has been demonstrated, using simulated Martian soil, that when the soil is mixed with water it can be used to make very good "bricks" more than half as strong as conventional concrete.

The Martian soil is rich in minerals containing iron. It is this iron which is responsible for the reddish colour of the planet's surface. In fact, Mars has a distinctly reddish tint when viewed with the unaided eye from the Earth.

Iron is fairly easily extracted from the Martian soil. In the low Martian gravity iron has about the same weight (per unit volume) as aluminium on Earth and is therefore an excellent building material for future Martian pioneers.

Aluminium and magnesium can also be extracted from the Martian soil, but the process requires much more energy than the extraction of iron.